The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn

CocoRosie | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 10, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Touch & Go Records
• ASIN: B000NQR7RU
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #101,294 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Their third release represents another stride onward from previous works, where the girls continue to experiment with their disparate voices and clashing personalities, juxtaposing devastating ballads like "Werewolf" with exhilarating tracks like "Japan" and the jaunty single "Rainbowarriors". It's a lush, orchestral array of sounds and beauty; a vaudevillian opera, if you will.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars We are rainbow warriors, April 9, 2007

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn (Audio CD)

Cocorosie have always been weird -- their first album was utterly bizarre, and so was their second.

But their creepy freakfolk sound is taken a step further in their third album, "The Adventures Of Ghosthorse And Stillborn." The sister duo's sound is more polished and complex in this one, but remains eerie, bizarre and enticing -- like a fantastical child's dream.

It opens with Bianca crooning "Of aaaaaalllll the white horses," over rattly maraca, keening guitar, chittering birds and a smooth keyboard melody. But by nature it's hip-hop oriented, with some childlike rapping:

"He's moved a little nearer/to the master of our laughter/to the master of our song... then we gathered in a circle/still drown the rainbow fire/burning amber's not united/we remember mystical beauty." It's gloriously catchy, but kept from being merely poppy by all those odd sounds and extra melodies.

Things get less openly catchy with the songs that follow -- skittering ambient rap, clattering pop tunes that are crammed with keyboard tones and scratchy samples, music-box ballads, wistful little meandering freakfolk tunes, and delicate guitar pop with a soaring keyboard edge.

The music in "The Adventures Of Ghosthorse And Stillborn" is almost TOO full at times, like a dusty room filled with old dolls and ornate toys. But it's never predictable -- there's always a weird new melody draped in oddball sounds for them. You never even have the chance to get bored.

The instrumentation is a bit more electronically oriented this time around, with waves of organ and keyboard over the smooth piano, rattly drums and ringing guitar. Sometimes these girls throw in some random samples (is that a duck?), bicycle bells, and some toy instruments -- it's a little cluttered, but it makes every song wildly unpredictable.

The songs are just as unpredictable -- sometimes silly, somtimes somber. They're filled with crystals, rollercoasters, werewolves, witches, wanting to go to Japan, and girls who talk to geese. All these are sung in Bianca's versatile voice, which can flip from opera to rap, and back to a high, rambling crack-pixie voice.

Cocorosie go into stranger, eerie territory with their polished third album, a checkered mix of freakfolk and crazy pop. Definitely a must-listen.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes Bjork sound like Rosemary Clooney, February 19, 2008

By 

Patrick Rael - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn (Audio CD)

No insult to either songstress, either -- it's just that these chix are so unbelievably, weirdly cool, that there's really no way to define them. Perhaps "best possible fusion of ambient, foundsound, rappish electronica." Cocteau Twins fell into a Jean-Pierre Jeunet dream. Do yerself a favor and try out one of these: Animals, Werewolf, Rainbowarriors, Japan. The more you listen, the more you like.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It pains me to write this, August 10, 2007

By 

Asta - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn (Audio CD)

Well, I certainly didn't dislike this album, but as someone who adored CocoRosie's first two efforts, I'm a little bit disappointed by The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn. This album has a much more cleaned up sound than anything I've previously heard from CocoRosie. I think that the production kind of sucks. I feel like whatever wonderful element that made La Maison de Mon Reve and Noah's Ark so endlessly enchanting to me is hardly even present here.